


first dates

by driftingskies237



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nervousness, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 04:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19243492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driftingskies237/pseuds/driftingskies237
Summary: Cyrus assumes dating will come easy to him and TJ. After all, they know each other better than anyone else. Soon, though, everything seems to come crashing down the night of their first date.





	first dates

Cyrus tugs at his collar for the hundredth time, trying to quell the uncomfortable itchiness that won’t seem to quit. He can feel the heat radiating off himself. Hopefully he isn’t sweating through his clothes. To distract himself, he scans through the menu again even though he’s practically memorized it by now. He peeks over the tall menu, looking directly across from him to meet eyes with TJ. Immediately, he casts his glance away, cheeks heating up.

When TJ and Cyrus first announced their mutual feelings for each other about a week ago, Cyrus felt elated. For once, a boy he likes actually likes him back. Around TJ, things have always felt easy. Despite their conflicts they have faced, they always come out of them stronger than ever. Cyrus has never felt on edge around TJ; he’s always felt like he could be himself. Naturally, he assumed that dating would be the same, just with more affection.

Turns out, he’s wrong.

So far, their first date is a disaster, and it all starts with Cyrus’s outfit shrinking in the wash.

 

* * *

 

“Mom? Where’s my outfit?” Cyrus calls from upstairs where he’s currently digging through his dresser drawers.

“I washed it, sweetheart! It still needs to be dried.”

Pacing, Cyrus runs a hand through his unkempt hair. He glances at his phone. Luckily, he tends to get ready extremely early, so he should have just enough time to dry his clothes before leaving. He rushes downstairs and turns on the dryer to a hot temperature, hoping it will cut down on the time.

Meanwhile, he continues to get ready. He styles and restyles his hair, eventually just giving up all together. His cologne is out, as well, and his nice shoes are lost somewhere in his room. All in all, nothing seems to be working in his favor so far. Cyrus starts feeling more and more on edge about the whole situation. _What if it’s not perfect like TJ was expecting? What if he decides we shouldn’t be together after all?_

Basically, this date has everything riding on it. Cyrus refuses to mess this up. With a determined mindset, he finds his missing shoes and borrows some of his stepfather’s cologne. Now, all he needs is his outfit. He slides down the stairs and into the laundry room, feeling relieved when he realizes that his clothes are thoroughly dry.

For a moment, Cyrus thinks things may be looking up for once. Then, he goes to get changed. Immediately, he notices something is wrong. His clothes that fit perfectly earlier today are now unbearably itchy and tight. His pants and sleeves are too short now as well. He put them on too hot of a temperature when drying them.

“Dang it,” Cyrus groans, hurrying to find something else to where before TJ comes.

Of course, just as he starts rifling through his clothes again, the doorbell rings. Not wanting to make TJ wait, Cyrus has no choice but to wear these clothes and hope that TJ doesn’t notice. He trips down the stairs on his way to the door, fumbling for the handle with shaking hands. Finally, he’s able to pull it open, revealing TJ standing with a grin on his face.

“H-hey TJ,” He greets, staring in awe at the other boy.

TJ is dressed up fancier than Cyrus has ever seen him dressed before. Unlike Cyrus, his clothes seem to fit him. His hair is slicked back as usual, except Cyrus notices it looks slightly less gelled down. He wonders if it’s because of the comment he made about how he likes TJ’s natural hair. His face glows, and the freckles peppered across his nose stand out from the sun.

Suddenly, Cyrus remembers he’s been staring for a long time without saying anything. What is he supposed to say in this situation?

“You look…good,” He grasps, trying to find a word to describe how perfect he looks. After breaking out of his stupor, he realizes how dumb that compliment sounded and immediately blushes. “I mean—”

TJ simply chuckles. “Thanks, Underdog. You look really good, too. Are you ready to head out?”

Not wanting to say anything else in fear of embarrassing himself even more, Cyrus nods and follows TJ out the door. TJ opens the door for him, and Cyrus thanks him with a smile. For the few seconds he’s in the car alone, he attempts to calm his nerves. He breathes deeply, willing his heart to stop pounding, and clenches his shaking, sweaty palms into his pants.

When TJ hops into the passenger seat, Cyrus has calmed himself down just enough to speak again. “Where are we going?”

“It’s this great little Italian place that I always used to go to as a kid,” TJ answers, scratching his head. “I mean, if that sounds okay to you—”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Cyrus interrupts nervously, not wanting to derail any of TJ’s plans. “Really great.”

They lapse into an awkward silence. Cyrus fiddles with his fingers in his lap, eyes on the floor. Music from the radio plays softly in the background. Cyrus wishes it were louder but doesn’t want to turn it up. He sneaks a glance at TJ while he drives.

 _It’s just TJ. You know TJ, you like TJ, so why is this so hard?_ It feels as if he’s in the car with a stranger. Unlike when he’s usually with TJ, Cyrus’s is currently overthinking every single move he makes and every word that comes out of his mouth. Nothing is going as planned so far.

Finally, they make it to the restaurant. Cyrus feels relieved, ready to get out of the car as quick as possible. Hopefully, things will get better when they get inside to the restaurant. TJ parks and turns the car off before climbing out. Cyrus waits for a moment, wondering if TJ will open the door for him again. It’s taking a while. What if TJ is confused as to why he’s not getting out of the car? Is he acting pretentious thinking that TJ will open his door again? Making up his mind, Cyrus decides to just get out, grasping the door handle and flinging it open.

Everything happens in a split second. Cyrus feels the car door ram into something solid. A loud thump sounds with the contact. Directly afterward, a pained grunt can be heard. Cyrus gasps, opening the door slower this time. The first thing he spots is TJ clutching his arm a few steps away from the door.

“Oh my god,” Cyrus says. “TJ, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘m good,” He mutters.

Cyrus closes his door, stepping toward him. His hands hover in front of the other boy, not sure what to do. “I am _so_ sorry!”

He looks at TJ grimacing in pain and feels tears welling in his eyes out of both guilt and embarrassment. His face feels like it’s on fire, and he just feels like going home. Still, he can’t just leave TJ while he’s in pain. He owes it to TJ to stick it out and be the perfect, ideal date.

“It’s okay, accidents happen,” TJ replies. “We should go inside.”

Cyrus scampers beside him, looking at TJ’s arm which he just uncovered. Already, Cyrus notices the big, splotchy bruise forming. He winces in sympathy.

The boys miraculously make it to their table with no more incidences. Both have their heads stuck in their menus, neither speaking. Soon, though, Cyrus can no longer stand the quietness between them and figures he should try to at least say something.

“So, you—”

“I think—”

They both attempt to talk at the same time, voices overlapping. Of course, this causes them once again to quiet, each worrying they’ll interrupt the other. The waiter comes by and takes their orders, alleviating the silence for just a minute.

Cyrus gulps down his drink, nerves getting the best of him. He just wants the food to get here as soon as possible so he has another excuse to not talk. Across from him, TJ seems to be internally debating with himself about something. Cyrus has an idea what he’s thinking about.

The waiter brings over a pitcher of water for them, and Cyrus immediately begins to refill his cup. Meanwhile, TJ starts to get up the courage to speak.

“Cyrus,” He begins hesitantly, “Maybe…”

With the condensation on the pitcher handle as well as Cyrus’s sweaty, shaking hands, his grip on the pitcher slips, sending the pitcher crashing sideways onto the table. Not only does the water pitcher dump ice water all over the place, but it also manages to knock over TJ’s full cup. The freezing water soaks into the tablecloth and spills all over both of their laps. The sound of the pitcher clattering and water splashing causes all attention to focus on them. Water continues to drip off the edges of the table.

Still in shock of what he did, Cyrus feels frozen in place. He sees all the people staring at him and whispering. He feels the water continuing to soak into his pants and shirt, causing the fabric to cling to him. The waiter rushes toward them with towels. Through all of this, though, Cyrus’s main focus is on TJ, who appears just as stunned as Cyrus if not more.

He can’t take it anymore.

In a split second, Cyrus stands up and rushes out of the restaurant, shoes sliding along the wet floor. Water from his lap falls down his pant legs and into his socks. He hears TJ calling after him, but he can’t face him. Cyrus isn’t sure he’s been this embarrassed in his whole life. He hurries outside just as he starts choking up. Soon, it all becomes too much for him, and he collapses into the grass by the curb.

He curls into himself, heaving out the sob that has been threatening to take over all night. Covering his mouth with his hand, he continues to cry. The tears run down his face, pooling by his fingers. He finally got exactly what he wanted and ruined it. Why did nothing ever seem to work out for him? This date is even worse than the double date he had with Iris where he puked in his shoe.

Footsteps patter behind him. “Cy?”

TJ’s voice is soft and soothing, a tone not heard from him very often. Cyrus stifles his crying and hastily wipes away his tears. He remains hunched in on himself, too embarrassed to even look at TJ let alone talk to him.

“Hey, hey,” He whispers, sitting next to Cyrus. Cyrus attempts to scoot away, but TJ is having none of it. He simply scoots closer, running a thumb across Cyrus’s cheek.

“Why are you still here?” Cyrus mutters, eyes downcast.

“What do you mean?”

Cyrus sniffles. “I mean, you can’t possibly like me anymore after tonight because of all the things I messed up! Our first date was a complete disaster.”

“It wasn’t a complete disaster.”

Cyrus looks at him skeptically, to which TJ smiles and concedes, “Okay, you’re right, it was pretty much a disaster, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you, Underdog.”

“Then why was this date so terrible?! We both like each other, but tonight it felt like we were complete strangers.”

TJ takes Cyrus’s hand, interlocking their fingers. “I know, I felt it too.”

“Maybe this is the universe telling us that we’re better off as friends.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Andi.”

Cyrus laughs wetly in response. “How do we do this? How do we get back to acting like ourselves again?”

“Well, for starters, maybe we should leave and get changed into clothes that are less wet. Then, we can talk more.”

TJ stands up, tugging Cyrus with him. Cyrus realizes just then how gross he feels. A soaking wet outfit that’s two sizes too small, snot and tears drying on his face, and a headache beginning to form all make him feel worse. The only thing that grounds him is TJ’s hand, still interlocked with his own.

They reach the car, and this time TJ allows Cyrus to open his own door. Although the ride back is still silent, the air feels less tense than before. Not to mention, TJ joined their hands again on the ride back.

TJ drives back to his house, leading Cyrus inside. By the time they get out of the car, the seats in there are damp from the spilled water. Cyrus shivers from the air conditioner blasting inside the house. They head up to TJ’s room which by now Cyrus has familiarized himself with.

“Here, these should fit you,” TJ says, tossing him some sweats and a random hoodie. “They’re too small for me.”

Cyrus changes in the bathroom, instantly feeling warmer. Even though the clothes are too small for TJ, they’re still too big for Cyrus. The sweatshirt sleeves cover his hands and the pants drag across the floor. Looking at himself in the mirror, Cyrus sees what a wreck he currently is. His eyes are still red from crying, dried tear tracks on his face. His hair is disheveled from running his hands through it.

He sucks in a deep breath, attempting to compose himself somewhat. He prepares for the worst with their talk. After all, neither of them knows how to fix this. How can they be together if their first time as a couple was such an awful experience?

TJ knocks at the door. “Hey, are you finished yet?”

“Yeah,” Cyrus murmurs. “I’m coming.”

He unlocks the door, coming face to face with TJ who wears his typical hoodie and basketball shorts.

“Downstairs on the couch?” TJ asks. Cyrus nods in agreement, following him.

Warmer and drier, the two of them sit down with plenty of space left between them. Cyrus can still feel his hands shaking from nerves.

“I think I’m forever cursed when it comes to first dates,” Cyrus decides.

“What do you mean?”

“My first date with my ex Iris ended with me throwing up in my shoe.”

TJ giggles. “Your shoe?”

“I couldn’t think of anywhere else!” Cyrus defends, starting to giggle himself.

After they quiet down, Cyrus thinks out loud, “See, right now I feel fine with you. Just hanging out like usual.”

TJ raises his eyebrows, to which Cyrus frowns in confusion. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we were putting too much pressure on one date.”

“But it was our first date! Isn’t that usually when you’re supposed to decide if you like that person or not?”

TJ scoots closer to him so their knees are knocking. He locks eyes with TJ, admiring the flecks of gold swimming in them.

“I like you so much, Cy,” TJ confesses. “I don’t need a date to prove that to me. Besides, if you think about it, we’ve already gone on a bunch of dates.”

“What do you mean?”

“All the times we’ve hung out and gotten to know each other helped us form this,” TJ motions between the two of them. “Just the two of us together is enough for me. We don’t need to go on fancy dates.”

Cyrus beams up at him. “Really?”

TJ wraps one arm around his shoulders. “Yeah. In fact, we could have another date right here, right now. I can order pizza and you can pick a movie out.”

The tension in Cyrus’s body evaporates with the feeling of TJ’s arm wrapped around him. “That actually sounds really great. Like normal.”

“It’s just us,” TJ grins, leaning his forehead against Cyrus’s. “Except a little less oblivious.”

“Just a little.”

TJ laughs breathily, kissing Cyrus on the cheek.

And later, when the movie credits roll and an empty pizza box sits on the table, Cyrus snuggles deeper into TJ’s side feeling unbelievably happy.

 


End file.
